2011 FBNBA Taxachusetts Chiefs defeat Milford Dogfish !!

Game 1 - Carpenter vs. Buchholz

Miguel Cabrera gets the party started with a 2nd inning solo HR. Thome and Burrell go back-to- back in the 4th. Burrell adds another solo shot in the 6th. The Chiefs cruise to a 6-1 win behind 7 shutout innings from Carpenter.

TX 020-201-010/ 6-10-0 MD 000-000-010/ 1-5-1

W - Carpenter (1-0). L - Buchholz (0-1). HR - Burrell 2, Cabrera, Thome.

Game 2 - Cahill vs. Lincecum

In the 1st, Lincecum walks Huff but strikes out the side. Heyward homers in the bottom half to give MD its 1st lead of the series. Lincecum's stuff is so electric, he can't control it. He walks the 1st three batters of the 2nd inning, and after striking out Barajas, he hits light-hitting Izturis. He takes a little off to get ahead of Huff, but Huff sends it into orbit for a grand slam! Lincecum whiffs Walker and Wright, but the damage is done; the Taxmen have score 5 runs on 1 . The Dogfish respond with an Iannetta triple and an Andrus squeeze. TX leads 5-2. Hughes comes in to get out of a 1st & 3rd jam in the 3rd inning. He ends up pitching 5 strong innings in relief, allowing only 2 runs on a pair of infield hits, a throwing error, and a Sac fly. Braun homers in the 5th to make it 7-3 Chiefs. But Benoit pitches 2 hitless innings, and the Chiefs tag on 2 more runs in the 9th for a 9-3 win.

TX 050-200-002/ 9-9-1 MD 110-010-000/ 3-8-2

W - Cahill (1-0). L - Lincecum (0-1). HR - Huff (1), Heyward (1), Braun (1).

Game 3 - Verlander vs. Johan Santana

A pair of walks and a Jay Bruce homer give the Dogfish a 1st inning 3-0 lead. But Ike Davis is injured until . Heyward homers in the 2nd, and Ian Stewart adds a 3-run shot in the 4th, giving MD an 8-1 lead. Verlander takes care of the rest, and the Dogfish paddle to a 9-3 win.

MD 310-400-100/ 9-9-0 TX 010-101-000/ 3-6-0 W - Verlander (1-0). L - J.Santana (0-1). HR - Bruce (1), Heyward (2), Stewart (1); Cabrera (2), Thome (2).

Game 4 - Sabathia vs. Carpenter

Manny doubles home Heyward in the 1st. Braun and Youk drive in runs in the 3rd, and MD takes a 3-0 lead. The Chiefs tie it in the bottom of the 3rd on HRs by Wright and Morse. The game remains 3-3 until the 7th inning. McCutched doubles in a run to give MD the lead. With 2 outs, Mgr Carter decides to have Saito walk Braun to face Youkalis. Carlos Santana hits for Youk and smacks a ph 3-run HR! But wait...Lincecum (1WL) then hits for Manny and doubles, tiring Saito! Justin Upton hits for Ianetta, but Saito remains in the game tired. Upton finds the weak spot (literally), and the Dogfish now have a 5-run lead! The Chiefs get a 1-out double in the 7th, but Hellickson comes on to retire Wright and Cabrera. Boesch leads off the 8th with a triple, but Putz strikes out the side. On to the 9th, MD up 8-3.....after getting Izturis to pop to short, Putz leaves in favor of Gallardo. Single, double, walk. Good-bye Gallardo, hello, . Cabrera walks to load the bases. Thome pinch-hits and doubles. The score is now 8-6 with men on 2nd & 3rd only one out. Burrell pinch-hits and draws a walk. Casper "The Friendly Freak" Wells [35-41-66(8)] steps to the plate. He hits one to CF but McCutchen tracks it down for a Sac fly. Up steps Barajas, the Chiefs' last hope, the pitch.....a harmless comebacker, and the Dogfish hang on for the 8-7 win and even the series!

W - Sabathia (1-0). L - Carpenter (1-1). HR - C.Santana (1), Wright (1), Morse (1).

Game 5 - Buchholz vs. Dickey

The Chiefs score 2 in the 2nd on a Cabrera walk, a Thome double, a Burrell single and a GIDP. Huff's HR in the 3rd and Cabrera's HR in the 4th make it 4-0 Chiefs. Dickey's knuckled dominates the Dogfish for 5 innings, but he walks Andrus and McCutchen to lead off the 6th. Lefty Doug Slaten comes on to get ph-er Upton to fly out and whiffs Braun. Hanrahan gets the final out by striking out Sean Rodriguez, who had come in for the injured Youkalis. In the 7th, MD puts 2 men on against Fuentes, but Saito fans Andrus to get out of the jam. Barajas hits a 2- run HR in the7th, and Huff adds his 2nd of the game (3rd of the series) in the 8th. Chiefs win 7- 0 and regain the series lead, 3-2.

W - Dickey (1-0). L - Buchholz (0-2). HR - Huff 2 (3), Cabrera (3), Barajas.

Game 6 - Cahill vs. Verlander

Top of the 1st...Huff walks. Walker singles him to 3rd. Wright reaches on a FC, scoring Huff. Cabrera singles, but Verlander gets Thome and Burrell to limit the damage. Bottom of the 1st, McCutchen walks, and Braun doubles him home to tie the game. Top of the 2nd, Barajas singles. Izturis bunts him to 2nd. Huff drives him in with a singl. TX 2-1. Bottom of the 2nd, Heyward fans with the bags loaded to end a scoreless inning. Bottom of the 4th, Milford ties it with a walk, a balk and a Wright 2-base error. Bottomw of the 5th, a Youk RBI single gives MD a 3-2 lead and chases Cahill. Johan Santana comes in and induces Carlos Santana to hit into an inning-ending DP. Top of the 6th, the Chiefs load the bases with no outs. Granderson ties the game with a Sac Fly, but Verlander gets a GIDP from Barajas to avoid further damage. Top of the 7th, the Chiefs load the bases again with 2 outs, with Thome facing Putz. Andrus makes a nice play to end the threat. After 7, the score is tied 3-3. Now the funs starts...If you have a heart condition, please do not read...

Top of the 8th, Burrell leads off with a walk. Dyson pinch-runs and steals second. Granderson singles him home, tiring Putz. Hughes trots in from the pen. Carpenter hits for Barajas and lays down a sac bunt. Izturis singles home Granderson on a play at the plate. Hughes gets Huff and Walker to avoid further damage. TX leads 5-3. Bottom of the 8th...Mgr. Joe Carter then decides to bring in Benoit to get the last six outs and bring the Championship to Taxachusetts. Youkalis - single. Santana - single. Manny - single. Benoit is tired and has not retired a batter! Fuentes comes on to face Vizquel, who must bat, as Thole hit for Andrus earlier in the game. The Chiefs have the corners in. Vizquel smacks one to third (3B-X 3e21), and David Wright starts a 5-2-3 doubleplay! But the Dogfish still have men on 2nd & 3rd with Sean Rodriguez, who must bat, at the plate. Saito comes on and strikes him out to get out of the bases loaded, nobody outs mess created by Benoit.

Wright leads off the top of the 9th with a solo HR. Wells doubles with 2-outs and moves to 3rd on a WP. Hughes issues an IBB to Granderson, and Hellickson comes on to get Molina to end the inning. The Chiefs lead 6-3 and need only 3 outs to take the series. To this point in the game, the Taxmen have used the following : Cahill, J.Santana, Hanrahan, Slaten, Benoit, Fuentes & Saito. Brandon Lyon sits alone in the Chief pen. Saito stays in to face the top of the Milford lineup. McCutchen hits one to CF, but Granderson makes the catch. Heyward flies to left. The Chiefs are one out away. But Braun doubles. Ike Davis walks. Youkalis steps to the plate as the tying run (but he is also minus-eleven in the clutch). Youk triples! Youk! Youk! Youk! Saito is tired, and the tying run is on 3rd. Up to the plate steps Carlos Santana who has already hit a 3-run HR off Saito's card to win game 4. Mgr. Carter brings in his last available , Brandon Lyon. Carlos rolls a 3-2 on his card, a single! But wait, what's that omega sign? It's a choke out, and the Chiefs hang on to win the 2011 World Series!

TX 110-001-021/ 6-12-1 MD 100-110-002/ 5-10-0

W - Slaten (1-0). L - Putz (0-1). HR - Wright (2).

MVP honors go to Aubrey Huff, who hit the big grand slam in game 2, had a pair of HRs in the pivotal game 5, and went 2-3 with two walks in game 6.

Congratulations to Glen on a great season! What a team, with Jay Bruce and Justin Upton on the bench, and a rotation of Verlander, Sabathia, Buchholz, Lincecum and Gallardo. Needless to say, the World Series will continue to be a familiar event for Dogfish fans. But for now, pass me the goggles, the Chiefs are Champs! Can you believe it?